This Saturday your UT Dallas Women's Rugby Club plays a friendly match against the Denton Women's Rugby Club. This will be an exciting evening because like us the Denton Women are a young squad and looking to enjoy the bumping and bruising they'll get playing rugby. The match is set to kick off at 5:30pm. The UT Dallas Men's Rugby Club was to play UNT in their yearly friendly, but due to some unfortunate double booking. We will not be able to play our match, because UNT's league match with Rice trumps a friendly with us. This is a blessing in a small way, while I did want to play a lot of my newer players to get them experience, we have suffered some minor bumps and could use this weekend to heal up. Next Wednesday, the guys host crosstown rival SMU, kick off is scheduled for 7:00pm, while the girls resume their league play by traveling to San Antonio to play UTSA. Kick off for the girls is set for 5:00pm. Come on out and enjoy the last few weekends of great rugby weather and help cheer on the ladies. A recap on Saturday's match and a brief write up on next weeks matches to be posted later. Should be a great night.

Saturday evening both the Women and Men took the field in their home opener of the 2014 league season. The UT Dallas Women took on Texas St. Women (TxStW), while the men played University of Dallas (UD). I will begin with the women's match since it was the first match of the day. On a beautiful fall evening with the temperature very nice for a day of rugby, the ladies took the field to play two 25 minute halves. It was a lively match with both teams moving the ball up and down the field. In fact our ladies managed to score for the first time playing against TxSt.W and not only scoring that Try but converting is as well. The first half came to an end with the score UT Dallas 7, TxStW 22. The second half began and was played better than the first, the ladies were making tackles and when they had ball in hand, they were attacking and looking for gaps to exploit. Even though TxStW managed to score another 29 points the improvement came from the UT Dallas side. They scored another 10 points and the final score UT Dallas 17, TxStW 58. Scoring for UT Dallas was Alyssa (1 Try, 1 Conversion), Marie (1 Try), Judit (1Try) Playing for UT Dallas was Vic, Amber, Christina, Josey, Yesenia, Alyssa, Rachel, Marie, Mel, Judit, Alex, Gisselle, Lorraine, Shiva, Aimi, Cora. The Women of the Match was Mel, she played a great match. Thank you very much. The guys played the University of Dallas (UD) in a very good hard fought match. Both teams moved the ball up and down the field, both defenses were bending but not breaking. The first half ended with the score 7 all. The second half was the same as the first half, both sides moving up and down the field, defending all ends and attacking, but it was the lads of UT Dallas that separated themselves from UD and scored 20 unanswered points. The forwards played hard, won all kinds of ball and the backs especially played well, by attacking and especially on counter attacking from a UD deep kick. Full back Brian had a very good match, fielding deep kicks and communicating with his wings, all of the wings Zach, Nicky and Nick all played very well with Brian. The other members of the back line played very well also, Michael, Andrew, Seth, Caleb, and Andrew Do. Scoring Trys for UT Dallas was Michael, Andrew Whiteis (2), Andrew Do and Jonathan. Scoring the conversion was Brian. Man of the Match was Precious who took good line outs and tackled very well. Playing for UT Dallas:1. Maika, 2. Otto, 3. Ryan, 4. Precious, 5. Manny, 6. Jonathan, 7. Jack, 8. Jake, 9. Michael, 10. Andrew, 11. Zach, 12. Seth, 13. Caleb, 14. Liam, 15. Brian.Reserves coming in - Nicky for Liam, Alex for Jack, Andrew Do for Caleb, Brandon for Manny, Ashar for Alex, Nick for Seth, Luke for Ryan. Next weekend both the guys and girls have friendly matches and will post info on those matches later in the week.

This coming Saturday (10/18) marks the Home opener for both the Women and Men's Rugby Club. The ladies Kick off at 5:30 against Texas St. University Women's Rugby Club (TxStW) in their league opener. Last year marked a low against this talented side as they scored almost 100 points on us. TxStW has been playing rugby for a few years and they are well coached, not that our ladies are coached any less, but with an established program like TxSt they are able to develop a quality side year in and year out. The only draw back on TxStW is that they don't want to compete with the more established clubs like Texas A&M Women or UT Women, but that's not a problem. We welcome the competition, which will only make us better. This year we have a better team that's ready, willing and able to tackle and run the ball.

The guys play the University of Dallas (UD), Kick of is scheduled for 7:00pm, it's been quite a ride against UD. The first time we played UD in a friendly match some 4 years ago, they took care of us by beating us 63 to 10. This was a pivotal match for the guys back then, because at that time. That was the last game they lost and that match seemed to solidify the team to go on to 2 state championships and one 2nd place finish. UD has in the past been a big side, especially against UT Dallas, but we managed to take care of our own business and come away with victories each time we play them. This weekend will be no different, with the loss that we suffered last week at the hands of Letourneau, Our lads will be working hard to get back in the win column.

Looking forward to playing this coming weekend to see how everyone rebounds from last weeks tough matches and to play well together as a team. See you all this weekend at the UT Dallas Rugby Pitch.

Saturday morning brought about colder temperatures than the previous day, but the best part of the day was. It was Saturday and Saturday is a rugby day. The day would be a unique day in which I would get to coach both the girls and guys in 2 matches from 2 venues. 11:00am the ladies began showing up for their 12 Noon match with the TCU Women, due to the fact that we had 2 more players than TCU we gave them the 2 players so we can play 10's. The match kicked off at noon and was a very good match to watch, especially the first half and if you were a TCU fan. This is because the UT Dallas Women spotted TUC 24 points after playing the first 20 minutes of the match. The second half was a tale of 2 halves, with the UT Dallas Women beginning to flex some muscle, came out and scored 22 points themselves. Trys were scored Amber, Vic, Alyssa and Judit, with Alyssa converting one of the Trys. Woman of the Match - AmberLine up:1. Vic, 2. Lorraine, 3. Amber, 4. Josey, 5. Yesenia, 9. Alyssa, 10. Rachel, 11 Alex, 12. Andrea, 13. CoraPlaying for TCU was Shiva and JuditThe second half Shiva came in for Alex and Judit came in for Cora, Cora replaced Josey, Josey played for TCU and Alex played for TCU.

The guys showed up in Longview at 5:30pm and prepared for their match with Letourneau on a slightly damp night but water logged pitch. The Line up:1. Maika, 2. Ashar, 3. Ryan, 4. Eric, 5. Precious, 6. Daniel, 7. Luke, 8. Jake, 9. Andrew, 10. Brian, 11. Kashan, 12. Andrew Do, 13. Seth, 14. Zach, 15. JoeIn the 2nd half Otto replaced Ashar, and Michael replaced Andrew for tactical reasons. The match was played at a high pitch and fast pace, both teams came out and wanted to show their domination over their opponent. It was Letourneau that scored first with a penalty kick early in the 1st half and from that point on it was all Letourneau. The scored another penalty kick and then a converted try in the first half, but near the end of that 1st half UT Dallas scored their first try of the league season, that try was scored by Daniel. The second half was all Letourneau, but there were flashes of UT Dallas, so the hope for future matches is still alive. We knew a loss was coming and it would not be the end of the world as we know it. We have to regroup and come out with a renewed focus and higher work habit.

Nest weekend Oct. 18th, UT Dallas Women and Men both host clubs in our Home opener. The UT Dallas Women host Texas St. University Women, kick off is scheduled for 5:30pm. The Men will host University of Dallas and that kick off is scheduled for 7:00pm More on those 2 clubs later this week.

Last weekend both the UT Dallas Men and Women took the field in their first games of the 2014-2015 season. While this was tournament format, it allowed a lot of players to take the pitch to show what they've been coached and how we might progress in the upcoming season.

I'll begin with the women since they were the first team to take the pitch Saturday. The UT Dallas Women's Rugby Club arrived in Austin with 10 players ready to challenge the day, but during warm ups Marie tweaked her back and was unable to play in the first match against Sam Houston St. But lucky for us UTSA came with 5 players, so we readily allowed them to play with us. The match was played with a lot of spirit and pace, the more experienced Sam Houston St (SHSU). women showed that they would not be kept out of goal. The combined UT women actually showed more determination in the first half keeping SHSU down to only 2 Trys at the end of the first half. The second half after making 4 substitutions so that everyone got a chance to play, it was all SHSU in the second half, scoring 5 Trys, but there were moments of UT brilliance from a number of girls. Alyssa a couple of times found a gap and took off only to be caught from the side by a speedy wing. Racheal and Vic found that they could take on the SHSU ladies as well as the guest players we had from UTSA (Haley and Makaila both showed flashes of brilliance). Our 2nd match of the day was against a new club Angelo St. University (ASU), this match proved that if the field were level in experience our UT girls could take advantage of the situation. Playing tough defense against some very good runners, the combined UT girls played fantastic. Then when they got the ball they showed that they could attack with the best of them. In this match Marie got her back feeling pretty good and she took the field in the second half and that was all she needed. Marie ran in 2 Trys in this half and Rachael scored her first Try. The combined UT side won their first match of the young season. The girls of ASU and combined UT side agreed to play one more match against each other so that they could have that many more games under their belts, but this time it wasn't going to be the combined UT girls to repeat with another victory. This time the ASU girls discovered that running hard and being in support meant a wider open field in which to run and run they did. They managed to score a few more Trys than the combined UT side, but on the bright side. Alyssa scored her first Try of the season and converted it and Kera (UTSA) ran in a Try of her own. On the whole the women played very well and with more practice and games, they will become a much better club and team. The women that played are Vic (prop), Hailey (UTSA - hooker), Marisa (UTSA - prop) Christina (prop), Josey (lock), Laura (UTSA - lock), Lorraine (lock), Mel (lock, wing), Alyssa (scrumhalf), Rachael (flyhalf), Judit (inside center), Makaila (UTSA - outside center), Kera (UTSA - outside center), Marie (wing), Shiva (wing) The Men took the field against UTSA and for a number of them it was their first time playing against another colored jersey. UTSA came out hard and wanted to show UTD up, but with the hard working forwards lead by Maika, Daniel, Eric and Ryan winning all kinds of rucks. UT Dallas was able to win the first match of their tournament. Trys scored by Michael and Brian, then Brian converted his try to seal the win. The men's second match of the day was against Baylor, a much bigger side for the guys, but they did play well against Baylor. Their defense was at times spot on, especially when the team needed them to be tight, they were. But it was in open field that allowed Baylor to score points against inexperienced and undersized wings. Something we will work on. The lone Try was scored by first year player Chad - good job son. The 3rd match of the day was against St. Edward's, while the weather was better for us than the last time we faced St. Edward's. This time it was a solid running attack from St. Edward's that provided a lop sided score (too much to not enough). But this was something the lads could take home, by working hard in practice and eliminate mental errors, we can compete with anyone. Time is on our side, but that time is quickly getting smaller and smaller.

This coming weekend both the men and women kick off their league play. The UT Dallas Women travel to Ft. Worth to play TCU at Gateway Park. Time is still to be determined, TCU has yet to send me that info, but when I get it I will post it. TCU has always had difficulty recruiting and if they have only 7 players, UT Dallas will give them 3 or more players to get as many girls playing as possible. This is a luxury that we have at UT Dallas, we want as many girls getting as much experience as possible, so when we need them, they'll be ready to go. TCU may have trouble recruiting but the players they do have are quick and knowledgeable, so it will be up to us to have the girls prepared to attack, defend, support and play wide open rugby. The guys travel to Longview to play Letourneau, in a somewhat misunderstanding. The kick off will be played under the lights of Letourneau University at 7:00pm. Letourneau has been up and down the past couple of seasons, but their coaches will have them prepared to take the field and they will be gunning for the lads of UT Dallas. They like many of the clubs in the Lonestar Conference want to be the one to hand UT Dallas their first league loss, but that won't happen if the guys play within themselves and play as a unit.I will be posting directions to both the girls and guys matches along with kick off times.